Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Cycles

I have starting formulating a schedule for myself of which races I want to do and how I am going to train for them. Sometimes, it just depends if you can get into the race you want and if you don't, what's the back up plan. As I was figuring out what I would do differently this year, I thought I'd focus more on my weaknesses instead of doing the same old, same old. I started taking a spin class on a weekly basis. I've seen those biker dudes float up a big climb seemingly with no effort and so I thought...why don't I take a spin class and maybe some of that will rub off on me and I will become a stronger climber. While that is yet to be seen, what can be deduced is that I think these classes are HARD. The first class I took was demoralizing. I was wobbling out of the class on a pair of rubber bands. The next few classes I tried to "hover over the seat". I think today was the first time I came close to that, so progress is being made. Next, we'll see how that effects my climbing abilities in trail running. Capital Peaks Mega Fat Ass is coming up in a few weeks and I'll test my skills out. I have never been one to take classes at a gym, but this instructor plays great music, he's funny and he seems to be a great cyclist and I've learned some by just watching him. All that makes up for the fact that it starts at 6:15 AM.

In the meantime, I continue to run in the winter conditions which aren't bad if I can take it one run at a time. I cannot focus on how cold it is or lately how snowy it is. It's all an adventure and the weather adds to that adventure. So do the dark mornings and the early evenings. I have had some great adventures in the past few weeks and here are some highlights.